


October Eyes

by Hawk3ye



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Bad Albus Dumbledore, Battle of Hogwarts, Bisexual Harry Potter, Dark Harry Potter, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Heir of Slytherin Harry Potter, Hogwarts, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Master of Death Harry Potter, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Sane Tom Riddle, Slow Burn, Slytherin Harry Potter, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Young Tom Riddle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24701083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawk3ye/pseuds/Hawk3ye
Summary: After years of being manipulated and lied to, Harry finally finds out the truth. Betrayed, the boy who lived chooses to go back and change his life and the future of the Wizarding world, sending him on a dangerous journey of time travel, revenge and unlikely love.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Comments: 28
Kudos: 202





	1. The Remnants

As he stood at the doorway of the Great Hall Harry took slow calculated breaths. The battle was finally over and he was now free. Returning the Elder wand to Dumbledore’s grave had been the last step and now he could rest. His chest felt lighter than it had in his entire life and the pressure in his head he had mistaken for normal was finally gone.

Harry felt a pang of sadness as he looked around the place he had called home for the past 7 years. The school was transformed into an unrecognisable mess, and even with magic Harry had no idea how they could possibly fix the damage that had been done. There were gaping holes in the enchanted ceiling and cracks along the walls that looked seconds away from falling apart. Tables and benches had been torn apart and shards of stained glass window lay dangerously on the floor.

Streams of orange light pooled into the hall from the setting sun and highlighted the specks of dust which had finally begun to sink to the floor and settle. He looked across at where his friends, no his family, were gathered. The large group mostly made up of the Weasley’s were huddled around a body and Harry cringed knowing that he was the reason it was there. Fred’s corpse had been covered by one of the school banners, and as Harry approached, he heard the tail end of the conversation. “He wouldn’t be caught dead under a Slytherin tapestry” Ron snarled, his brow creasing, and his lips pursed. “Well, apparently he would” George replied, turning his head away from his twin for the first time to catch his younger brothers’ eyes and grimace. Ron flushed a deep red and lowered his head.

“Boys, please” Mr Weasley sighed, tiredness seeping into his words. He looked down at where Fred lay before raising his wand and mumbling a spell that shook the banner up and down like a parachute, turning the deep green and silver paler until it was bright white.

“Harry, dear” Mrs Weasley called noticing the boy on the fringe of the group and rushing forwards to wrap him in a hug so tight he almost couldn’t breathe, “It’s alright now” she whispered. At these words, he melted into her embrace, smelling the same pumpkin sent he had come to associate The Burroughs with, and losing himself in the memory of his best friend’s house for a few seconds. Gasping slightly Harry pulled away from the Women. “Where, where are they- “he started, searching the floor for Remus and Tonks who had been lying side by side next to Fred moments before he left. Remus had been the last true link back to his parents and losing him had been the most painful aspect of the day. His mind drifted to Teddy. They were the same now. Two boys, both who had lost their parents to the same man, the same war.

“They took them, Harry,” Ginny said, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers tightly, “The Aurors. They’ve started to process everyone.”

“Process my ass” Bill spat standing up and pushing long whips of hair behind his ears, revealing the long purple scars that ran down the side of his face, “They took Remus first. Tonks too, thought she might be infected. Seeing as, well, Rem-” He trailed off, seeing his father shaking his head.

Everyone seemed tense and Harry kept catching the eyes of Ron and Mr Weasley who would quickly look away. He supposed they blamed him for Fred’s death and he wondered if things would ever go back to normal now. Harry went to open his mouth and say something, anything to lighten the mood but he stopped abruptly as two Aurors made their way over accompanied by Charlie and a flustered looking Hermione. Harry had never seen the Aurors before, but the way Percy shot up from the ground and dusted down his clothes he knew they must have been important.

“Dorian Funbury” the first one stated nodding at the group. Although pale, Funbury was far from sickly, he was well built and wore a navy fitted suit. His piercing grey eyes lingered on Mr and Mrs Weasley as he introduced his partner “and this is Officer Cerberus Langarm” motioning to the black man in a dark trench coat to his side. Langarm smiled, the corners of his moustache rising as he did so before returning his face to solemn politeness. “We’ve already taken statements from everyone else, Mr Potter” Cerberus Langram said, narrowing his Ebony eyes to look at Hermione, before continuing “There's just a few… blanks, that need to be filled in from you of course”.

“Man of the hour” Dorian added, flashing him a wide grin while Langram pulled a notepad out a pocket from within his coat and let it drift by his side, a rich blue quill floating in the air in a way that reminded Harry too much of Rita Skeeter. “A bit more than just an ‘our” Fleur scoffed causing Harry to blush, but he nodded and dropped Ginny’s hand as he went to follow the men.

After walking several steps away from the group Harry felt pressure around his arm and looked down to see Hermione’s smooth chestnut hand grabbing him tightly. She pulled him close, her messy coiled hair brushing against his cheek as she whispered in his ear “Harry, be careful. Just because You-Know-Who is gone doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have followers'', “Yeah I know, Hermio-” Harry tried to respond, but was cut off by her Sharpe glare which he knew would be followed by a lecture. “Listen” she pleaded, her grip tightening. Harry tried to look sympathetic and as if he was listening, but he was tired, and it wasn’t as if anyone was going to try anything now. Not when he’d just killed one of the darkest wizards in history. “Just, just don’t trust everything they say. I mean, who knows where they stand. The Minister has never really been on our side. They just want to shape public opinion, so they come out on top” Harry nodded along to her words, confusion clouded his mind and he broke away from her grasp. Where had this come from the boy wondered? Yes, he agreed, the ministry had only ever looked out for themselves but the way his friend was looking at him unsettled him.

“Mr Potter” Langram called and, taking one last look at Hermione and the rest of the group, he turned away and sped up after the Aurors.

xxx

After years of being stared at Harry had assumed one day, he would get used to it, but walking through the hallways of Hogwarts, all eyes transfixed on him, he knew this would never be the case. He hated the way they gaped at him, or worse yet smiled and waved as though they knew him. Distracted by his thoughts Harry hadn’t realised the Aurors had paused at a classroom and bumped into Funbury who was peering through the door. “Careful” The Officer warned lightly, pushing the door fully open and directing Harry inside.

The room was Classroom Eleven, the place where Firenze the Centaur had taught Divination. The class once overgrown with thick trees and plants in an effort to make it resemble the Forbidden Forest was now charred and the air was thick with the smell of burnt wood. Harry went to take a seat on one of the few remaining desks but leapt up when his legs touched the freezing table which was covered in water.

“Some of our men came in here earlier and put out the fires. Looks like they didn’t bother drying up” Langram stated, frowning at the boy’s trousers which were now soaked on the underside. Dorian closed the door behind them and raised his wand, casting a Muffliato charm around the room. He turned to look at his partner and raised an eyebrow “Bit more important things going on than a soggy table don’t you think Cerb-”

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’d really like to get back, so what do you need? I can give you my memories of when I went to the woods, to face Voldemort” Harry watched as the men winced as he said the name. He supposed it would take a little while for people to forget about the Taboo Jinx that had been placed on the Dark Lords anagram. “and um, yeah anything else really”

“Yes, the Ministry would find that useful. We do however need a few more memories” Cerberus said rubbing his spindly fingers across his forehead as he checked the floating quill was making notes.

“The Horcruxes?” Harry questioned, “Didn’t you get those memories from Hermione? She was there the whole time” Remembering bitterly the months his friend Ron had been absent, as they had searched for the missing pieces of Voldemort’s soul.

“No,” said Langram carefully “We’re part of a separate investigation”

“Abuse and mistreatment of multiple students under the leadership of Albus Dumbledore have come to light” Funbury added, flashing an annoyed look at his co-worker.

“What?” Harry asked, confused at what the men could mean. He’d never seen Dumbledore do any such thing and out of all the students at Hogwarts he’d been the one to spend the most time with the man, he would have noticed.

“Significant evidence has arisen that Professor Dumbledore manipulated and controlled the people around you” The pale Auror stated as he began pacing the classroom, peering at the boy.

Langram moved closer to Harry as he spoke, “We’d been following this case for a few months before our department was shut down under the order of Dolores Umbridge. At the time we’d already had enough proof to support the case, but we couldn’t get to you. You were being shielded by the very people that we knew to have been involved”

“And then, of course, you disappeared” Funbury huffed, leaning against a spot of wall that had been cleared of all plant life by the fire.

Harry's mind raced, “What do you mean manipulated? Controlled? Who was involved? What are you talking about?” he blurted out. Had this been what Hermione was talking about Harry wondered, did the Ministry of Magic want to discredit Dumbledore? Hermione had been acting weirdly when the Aurors wanted to talk to him in a way completely out of character. Usually, the girl was logical and put together. Seeing her so maniac had worried him, but if she had sat through the same conversation maybe it was understandable.

“We know what happened to you at the hands of your Aunt and Uncle, Harry.” Cerberus said, shocking Harry, “Dumbledore did too. He made it that way. We went to your Guardians house and found them to be under an imperious curse, they put up a bit of a fight”.

“For a muggle that is” Funbury’s words full of condescension as he wiped the soot from the shoulders of his suit.

“But,” Cerberus said, glaring at the other Auror before turning back to Harry “once they were subdued, we performed a Legilimency on them. We found memories of Dumbledore instructing them how to treat you, or well, mistreat you. Enough to cause misery and harm. To isolate you from the Wizarding world and humans in general, but not enough to arouse suspicion. So, when the time came, he could put people in your life, himself included that would show you affection and would immediately gain your trust and loyalty”

“No, that can’t be right. No one was put in my life; you’re not making any sense” Harry protested. He felt lightheaded but knew it had nothing to do with the fact he hadn’t eaten in the last 12 hours.

Langram put his hand on Harry’s shoulder, ignoring the way he flinched slightly as he did so, “You were cut off from any possible family that would threaten Dumbledore’s hold on you. He knew your godfather Sirius Black was the secret keeper for your parents, that Peter Pettigrew was given access. He knew there was no way Black was involved, but he let him rot in Azkaban. Let him rot so custody would remain with the Dursleys. Years later when Remus Lupin started to look into adopting you, he was then ousted as a Werewolf on Albus’ command. There’s no way the ministry would let a werewolf be the guardian of a child” he said reluctantly.

The words stung Harry. “He wouldn’t have done that. Professor Dumbledore, he, he wouldn’t.” but as the words left his mouth Harry began to really think about what the men were telling him. It was true, Dumbledore must have known about Sirius, but outing Remus? That was Snape. Snape, he thought. The man that did everything Albus said, no matter how awful. “But Werewolves can have children, he had Teddy!” he declared suddenly, a last-ditch attempt at finding flaws in the Aurors' claims.

“Biological. No one can refuse his claim to that, well not unless the child is harmed” sighed the Auror as he took his hand off Harry's shoulder.

Dorian pushed himself off the wall and strode over to stand next to his co-worker, “Didn’t you ever find is suspicious” he cut in, clearly becoming frustrated in the boys’ refusal to believe them “the way the Weasleys made such a fuss of getting to Platform 9¾ in front of all those muggles during your first year? A place they knew very well, making sure you knew who had helped you, and introducing you to their son. How even though he already had several Wizarding friends in that year, Ronald Weasley sat alone? Waiting for you. How Miss Hermione Granger entered your cart under the premise of looking for another child’s pet, a child she never once showed interest in afterwards? How she spent the first year repeatedly inserting herself into your life? You must have noticed how everyone wanted to be your friend, Harry, but they were stopped. Ronald and Hermione had to cut you off, make sure you only spent time with them, or approved people.”

Langram cleared his throat before he spoke, “Others were punished if they weren’t part of the plan. Cho Chang, an Ex-girlfriend of yours for example. Her family have already given us testimonies. Every time she talked to you a spell was triggered that would force her to remember Cedric Diggory, she would be shown flashbacks of his dead body. It made it impossible for her to be in your life. It was too painful. She wasn’t the only one Harry.”

  
Harry thought back to all the times he had spent with Cho, she did have an awful habit of crying uncontrollably around him. A habit that would worsen if he tried to kiss her or hold her hand. Hermione had said that was normal though, oh. She would though, wouldn’t she, he thought darkly.

“I’m sorry Harry, but it’s true. We’ve questioned multiple people and have Pensieves full of memories from all of those involved” Cerberus admitted, “It was all part of his plan, for the greater good. You were constantly tested throughout your childhood. Rubeus Hagrid played a key role in delivering information to you from the headmaster so you and other students could be put in harm’s way to ensure you were progressing in the areas you needed to. He and others that complied were well rewarded for their efforts”

Harry felt a cold numbness, “Rewarded?” he asked, trying to push down the feeling of anger that had begun to flare up within.

“Albus Dumbledore was a powerful man, Harry. How many third-year students do you know that had access to a time timer?” Dorian inquired a little too smugly for Harry's liking.

Sensing the tension that had been building between the two men, Langram stepped in between them before explaining further, “Rubeus Hagrid was allowed to continue at Hogwarts after being expelled, to teach even, and the Weasley’s they were in huge amounts of debt several years ago. They were selling off family heirlooms left, right and centre, but then all of a sudden, the money that was owed was paid off. Then of course members of the family receive promotions from the ministry.”

“They stood to gain a lot of money had you not been successful. You’re a rich young man, Harry. Dumbledore made sure they would all benefit if you had been killed off today” Funbury confessed.

All these years Dumbledore had stood before him and lied. The man controlled every aspect of his life. How much of it was even real? Did his parents even have to die? Did Sirius? Did anyone? Harry felt a stinging sensation across the palm of his hands and looked down to see bloody indents where he had clenched his fists so tightly his fingernails had broken the skin. “What’s going to happen to them” he managed to force out through pursed lips.

“They’ve all been spelled into silence, well everyone over the age of 17, we can’t be interfering with children’s magic, and they have temporary trackers” replied Langram, “however we still need to go through the proper channels, so you’ll be taken into protective custody until-”

Everyone over the age of 17. The word played on repeat in Harry's mind. The only person he knew that was underage was, he could barely think it. Ginny. She had been involved too. There wasn’t a single person left in his life that he could trust. Everyone he loved had lied to him. He felt sick. This war had taken his whole life. Everything left was rot, an infested disease that ran rampage all around him, and he wasn’t going to let it any longer. He was going to put a stop to it. He was going to eradicate it in the way he had done everything else in the past 18 years of his life, alone and without the Ministry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey,  
> Thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter. I've already started on the next one and there will be many more on the way soon so don't worry about waiting too long. This is my first piece of serious work so please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!  
> xxx


	2. The Boy Who Died

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning // This chapter contains several descriptions of gore, please take care while reading.

Before anyone could stop him Harry had already raced across the room, swinging the door open before slamming it behind him and casting the Colloportus spell wordlessly, locking the two men in the room. He knew that it wouldn’t last for long, but every second the Auror’s were locked in was an extra second he had to act. He ran down the corridors, stumbling over piles of rubble and avoiding the scattered groups of people where he could.

Hours had passed since the battle and the school was mostly empty now, only Aurors and small groups of mourners protecting their loved ones remained. The only time Harry had seen it so quiet was when he had snuck around the grounds at night as a child, but even then it had still felt safe. Now that the statues had crumbled and the paintings were empty and torn Harry couldn’t think of a place that felt more alien. 

Smoke wafted from a classroom stinging his eyes and causing them to water up and blur his vision. He slowed down to raise his glasses and rub his eyelids with the cuff of his shirt before continuing. The Great Hall was around the next corner and he needed to press on. He turned left, breaking into a run again as he saw a figure leaning outside the door, hunched over and crying. As he quickly approached, he could see the girls fair skin and fiery red hair. It was her, Ginny, the girl Harry had once imagined marrying, now all he could picture when he saw her was the lies. Anger like he had never felt before boiled in his veins, and he couldn’t stop himself. 

“LIAR” Harry shouted, causing her to look up and meet his eyes. Shame painted the girl's face and she shrunk inwards, “Harry-” She started softly but he cut her off “You lied to me, you made me think you loved me, that I could be happy, that we could...” He choked. Ginny shifted her head to the side sympathetically, her lips quivering. He didn’t want her sympathy, not when she had been the one to stab him in the back. His entire body felt tense and he couldn’t stop his hands from shaking. “You’re pathetic, weak!” He spat as he reached into his pocket and brought out his wand. “SECTUMSEMPRA!” Harry screamed, flashing his wand at the girl that stood before him, “Protego!” Ginny cried in response. 

The spell that shot out of Harry's wand moved too quickly to be seen but exploded with a light so bright against the invisible shield Ginny had cast that it temporarily blinded Harry. The noise of the spell's collision burst loudly like a firework and Harry was blown backwards as it rebounded.

Harry smacked roughly against the hard stone, his ears ringing and his head pulsing. He blinked and suddenly his skin felt as if it were on fire, every inch of his body was in agony. He tried to scream but nothing came out, slowly he raised his head to look down his slight frame and he saw deep gashes covering his torso which made his flesh sag where the spell had cut through muscle. Waves of sickness rolled over him and he dropped his head back to the floor.

Tears sprung from Ginny’s eyes as she rushed over to the boy that was sprawled across the ground. “Oh god Harry” she sobbed, “I never meant for this to happen.” Harry tried to respond but he found that his neck felt tight and spasmed when he attempted to speak. With what little strength he had left, he lifted his hands to his throat and felt the wet liquid pooling at his neck. There were several large cuts across his throat which hung open causing streams of blood to pour down onto his chest like a waterfall. 

He could feel her hands caressing his cheek and knew how Quirrell must have felt when Harry touched him, just her presence made the pain worse. “I know, Harry” she comforted, clearly not knowing what he was thinking, “I had to, my family needed me to. They were going to take us away and put us in an orphanage, mum and dad couldn’t afford as all. Doing what Dumbledore wanted was the only way we could all stay together”. Harry scowled at her, hoping she would recognise it as a sign that he didn’t care what she was saying, rather than from the pain he was experiencing. 

Ginny’s eyebrows creased over her weeping eyes, “I didn’t want to do it, and, and, I was barely acting in the end”, she saw the hatred in Harry’s expression and began to sob harder, “I had to sacrifice things for you too. I could’ve been a great Witch, but P-professor Dumbledore put me under a suppression spell. Why do you think You know who’s Diary targeted me? What? Because I was so weak, Harry?” a tinge of bitterness in her voice. If he could, Harry would have scoffed, he didn’t care for her defence, especially when she was so wrong. It was weakness that led her to confide solely in Tom Riddle and weakness that meant he’d had to save her. 

If he had wanted her side of the story he wouldn’t have acted so rashly, but now he had to lay here and listen to it anyway. “I'm powerful, but I couldn't be that way. I was supposed to be your prize, your future. I was never allowed to be myself, and It’s not as if you actually wanted me, Harry. You were just as fake as me” she proclaimed. Harry seethed at her word. He was just as fake as her was he? Oh, he must have forgotten all the time he pretended to date her on Dumbledore’s orders.

This was just perfect, how had the situation turned out so drastically different from the one he had planned. Maybe that was the problem, he didn’t have a plan, he’d just gone and done what he thought he should have, as he had always done. If only she had cast the charm just a second later the roles would be reversed and he could be standing over her, rightfully blaming her for what happened. 

The sound of the spell and her sobbing had clearly caught the attention of people in the surrounding area, as a crowd had begun to pour out of The Great Hall and gather around them, all gasping and pointing at him. His whole life had been a spectacle, why not his death too. 

Molly and Arthur pushed forwards to the front of the group, followed by the rest of their family and Hermionie. The looks on their faces were almost worth not being able to hex them. The group had started panicking, shouts and rushed conversations mixed together in his ears. Harry was unable to distinguish anything anyone was saying and so instead he looked down at his chest. The bloodstains had become larger and merged so that his whole body was drenched in a thick maroon covering. The room had begun to sway and he could feel his heartbeat loud, but ever slowing within his neck.

Harry could hear shouts coming from the far side of the corridor, and the group that had surrounded him fell into silence and split apart as the two men's footsteps grew closer and louder. “What happened, who-” Langram huffed, still out of breath after sprinting from the locked room. “What spell was used?” Funbury roared, cutting his partner off, seeing Harry laying in a pool of his own blood.

“I, I don't know,” Ginny cried “I’ve never heard it used before”. If Harry had any more energy he might have considered cursing himself for using one of Snape’s spells. Only he and the creator knew the counter charm and neither of them could exactly speak anymore.

The tiredness that had been growing within him felt monumental, and Harry found himself pulling away from the sounds around him. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all, it’s not exactly like he had anything left to live for. As he let his eyes drift closed he felt multiple arms around him, shaking his sore body. The pain seemed to be lifting, and it slipped away from him entirely as he fell unconscious and into the soothing darkness that welcomed him home.

.

.

.

.

He lay there in sweet nothingness for what felt like an age before a voice made up of thousands of whispers cut through the black haze, “Oh, do not sleep so quickly little one, a decision must be made”...

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a bit of a heavy paragraph, huh. Sorry for it being so short but I thought the scene would be more effective if it stood on it’s own, plus I do love a cliffhanger. What did you guys think of what I did to Ginny’s character? 
> 
> I also wanted to say a massive thank you to all of you readers. Seeing the amount of hits, kudos, comments ect has just been amazing and has really encouraged me to write and develop the plot, so hopefully you guys will enjoy what's to come in the following chapters.


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